The Gophers baseball team plays Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, at 3 p.m. today in a game that was originally scheduled for April 8. That game was postponed because of cold weather.
Also, Minnesota’s single, nine-inning game with Creighton on Wednesday at Siebert Field has been changed to a doubleheader with two seven-inning games. Game time has been switched from 3 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
The teams’ coaches agreed to make the alteration because both the Gophers and the Blue Jays have had a slew of games cancelled this season because of weather.
Minnesota leaves on Thursday for Columbus, Ohio, for a Big Ten series with the second-place Buckeyes.
Diebolt out of hospital
Gophers pitcher Mike Diebolt was back home on Monday after staying in a Pennsylvania hospital Sunday night.
Diebolt is diabetic and also suffered from the flu this weekend. As a result, his blood-sugar level dropped too low.
He was ill during the two-hour bus trip from State College, where the Gophers played Penn State, to the Harrisburg International Airport on Sunday after the series finale. From there, an ambulance took him to the hospital.
“He was doing OK by the time he got into the ambulance,” Gophers assistant coach Rob Fornasiere said. “We just wanted to be sure.”
Diebolt started on Friday against the Lions and lost his first Big Ten game after wins in his first two starts. He threw a complete game, allowing 10 hits in the 5-4 defeat.
Blown away
A strong wind at Beaver Field definitely had an impact on the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning, Minnesota sophomore Craig Selander hit a drive to right field that looked like it was heading out of the park.
But the wind, which was gusting from right to left field, helped keep the ball in play. Selander still got a triple and three RBIs out of the hit, but that one lost run was big.
Penn State’s Scott Boruta hit a fly to left in the second inning that was pushed a bit by the wind and landed over the fence for a solo home run. The Lions won 4-3.
“It’s tough to hit in these conditions,” Selander said after the game. “Anything hit in the air to right field gets knocked down.”
Three sheets to the wind
A comparison of the three Beers who played in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader:
ù Adam and Dan Beers, the twin brothers who play for Penn State, are imports, hailing from Endicott, N.Y.
ù The Gophers’ Ryan Beers, who comes from Slayton, Minn., is domestic.
ù All three are at least 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weigh at least 185 pounds, so none of them are microbrews or light Beers.
ù While all three are solid players, none are regarded as major league prospects, so none are draft Beers.
ù Last, Ryan is a first baseman, Adam is a shortstop, and Dan is a designated hitter. Therefore, Dan is the only one of the three Beers who is guaranteed not to get bad hops.
Around the Big Ten
ù Heavy snowfall in Iowa caused the cancellation of the entire Indiana-Iowa series.
ù Michigan State is struggling with a 5-11 record in the Big Ten. Still, that’s one more win than the Spartans had in the league all of last year.
ù Michigan has won 10 of its last 11 Big Ten games. The Wolverines’ only loss in that span is an April 4 7-5 defeat by Minnesota.
Hit & Run
ù Gophers freshman shortstop Mark Devore had his nine-game hitting streak end in Sunday’s first game.
ù Minnesota’s recent stretch of playing just two games in eight days was its first such span since 1972.
ù In Big Ten games only, the Gophers are leading the league both in hitting (.338 batting average) and pitching (4.17 earned run average).